Magic Jewball

The time stamp on this will say something like 3:30 or 4am but here it’s breakfast time as I sit at a cafe in Syntagma Square in Nafplio sipping Nescafe frappe which is exactly what it sounds like. There is no brewed iced coffee here, only this frothy whipped iced instant. It’s better than you’d think and the proprietor here already knows me and gets my frappe going when he sees me.

See that’s the fun thing about sticking around the same small, pretty town for several days. I no longer get lost at all and know which are the best routes to take anywhere. I am supposed to go to Epidavros today to see a stunning ancient theater but I’m already thinking of skipping it and hanging around here some more. I’ll see how I feel when my breakfast arrives.

Here’s the funnest thing about this town, by the way. There are a ton of churches but you can hear the bells of two of them from my pension. I know it is two because one has its clock set wrong and ding-dongs two minutes after the other. This is especially delightful in the middle of the night.

This morning there was also a marching band at 8am. I caught up with them as I passed the church on the way to breakfast. They stood lined up in formation in front of the open doors, idly, as the priest gave his sermon. Even though it was in Greek, I knew it was the sermon. After attending religious services all your life, you just know. I couldn’t help imagining the priest as the one from the Seinfeld episode where George tries to convert to Latvian Orthodoxy. I didn’t think it was a good idea to teeheehee right in front of the marching band and the church so I kept moving.

In other news, remember my sunburn on top of another sunburn? Yes, you guessed it, now that it’s gone there is a new one to add to the picture. Apropos of nothing, today I bought a new bucket hat.

Well, that’s all for now. Weather is here, wish you were beautiful!

PS, I’m not responsible for any spelling errors in this post, the CrackBerry has no spell check.

Well folks, I’m here and I’ve only gotten lost once! It’s actually the lady at the bus station’s fault. I showed her the name of the street where my pension is and she waved her hand in my face and told me to ask at the tourist office. Sadly, she wouldn’t tell me where that was either. The pension turned out to be two blocks away. Brilliant. Because my suitcase weighs a ton and a half. I would like everyone to know, by the way, that I’m spending ten days in two countries with one carry-on bag. Ha!

I took two buses from the airport and everyone was correct: Athens is a pit but the countryside is lovely. And now, I’m off to explore the town. Or fall asleep. This room is adorable and you’ll have to take my word for that because not only am I posting via Blackberry but I forgot the USB cord for my camera back in the US of A. Oops. Pictures will follow… in a couple of weeks.

Ta from the future because I’m 7 hours ahead of you.*

*your mileage may vary depending on where you live.

So I’m off and I’m leaving the team in your hands. I have complete faith that you will do fine. They will probably fail somewhere, but you’ll do fine. I got the International roaming plan on my Blackberry just so I could check on you! And this site. I can’t expect you to watch over my site too. Or can I….

No, probably not. Well, just the team then. I’ll be back in the middle of the first play-off series. At least I don’t have to worry about you hitting Kevin Youkilis in the head. Yet.

Since it’s going to be the Jewish holiday of Sukkot (they have it in Nebraska too!), I’m going to pray for you not to play the Angels in the first round. God doesn’t like teams named after ethnic/racial groups, I’m pretty sure, plus there’s that whole winning record you have against the Indians, that could also help. Oh and world peace, I’m also going to pray for world peace. Amen.

Anyway, Joba, take care of yourself. You got through rookie hazing just fine. As a matter of fact, I think you look smashing in that outfit. Not in that weird, furry way, just in that “if I were king of the forest” way. You get me.

Well I still have some last minute things to do and you’ve probably got some gatorade to drink after being in that costume in 80 degree weather, so I’ll just sign off now.

Love,
Becca

PS, if you need me, Pious B has my itinerary!

Peter, Paul & Mary – Leaving On A Jet Plane

I’ve been pretty terrible about writing lately but this is just a tough-love approach to getting you used to my being away. Also, so I could have something to be sorry for on Yom Kippur. Because I am utterly sinless. Bwahahahahahaha! Anyway, now that I’m all cleansed I know you’ll be wondering what sort of sugary cereal I broke my fast with. Wonder no longer, it was Fruity Pebbles. How could I resist it, the box had a big blurb on it that said, “Now Better Tasting!” I could imagine all those scientists in their white lab coats measuring the tastiness of each little pebble until they got it right. And you thought it couldn’t be improved! Just like me on Yom Kippur – see how I brought that right around?

Anyway, it’s only a couple of days until you experience the void in your life that means “I don’t know if I’ll be able to post on vacation or not.” And no one volunteered to guest post. I should really have e-mailed you all personally which is what the blogs I guest posted for did. But they’re more organized than I am. And who isn’t, really? So I’d like to point you to a new blog by my friend Maureen who goes by the name Veruca Salt and likes to review atrocious horror movies. Now, I don’t even like this kind of movie but I tell you, this is my favorite kind of blog. No “I went to the store today and bought milk,” just concentrating on one thing and doing it well. I love these reviews! It’s in my blogroll but please check it out here.

Also, something I’ve forgotten to mention is that I will be away for my birthday (oh no, Becca!). Yes, it means Kosher McDonald’s hamburgers in Jerusalem for me, no post for you. But I can imagine what you’re thinking. “Why, Becca, you give this blog free of charge all year, no advertising, no ‘Amazon wish list,’ no ‘donate here’ button. What can we give you for your birthday?” I’m so excited you asked! I enjoy cheap, meaningful presents and so, here’s my idea. You can gift me a song on iTunes. Any song! A song you like, a song you hate, a song you think I’ll like, etc.

Here’s how it works (you have to have iTunes, sorry): You simply click on an the album with the song you want to send and then on the “Gift this music” button. Then all the songs magically change from “Buy Song” to “Gift Song” and you can follow the directions from there. My e-mail address is in the “About Me” box on the right. Of course, I will still love you just as much with no gifts, but here’s your chance to force your taste on me and pay me back for 18 months of me forcing mine on you. Don’t pick anything from the album below, however, I already have like three copies.

(click to enlarge)

Voila! (click to enlarge)

Oooh, I love that song, thanks!

Anyhoo, I’m here for another couple of days. Don’t do this yet or I’ll get it before my birthday. And if I’m too happy before I leave my plane will crash. I learned that from Lifetime movies.

Sugar – Gift

Sometimes, you’re just standing at the end of the day, waiting for the subway, staring into space and thinking of Greek gelato, when something jumps out at you to remind you of why you’re going away.

Oh yeah, that’s it.

By the way, does anyone know if Internet cafés in Greece have English alphabet keyboards? Because it’s going to make it awfully hard to blog from there otherwise. I couldn’t even manage the transposed q and a in France; I foresee trouble. Anyone want to guest post while I’m away? Serious offers will be entertained. And by entertained I mean dancing girls.

Late-breaking update, 11am: We have a hotel, people, we have a hotel. PS, Thank God everyone in Greece is named Dmitris. It makes life so much easier.

Hey, remember this post where I said I hoped I’d never need a rat song so I was using one for no reason? I knew that would come back to haunt me. Luckily lots of people have rat songs! This one’s dedicated to a friend in this band’s hometown who is dealing with a tough time. Your pal, Casey Kasem.

Deftones – Rats!Rats!Rats!